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Patrol Boat
Confederate Patrol Boat "Born on the bayou." :- Patrol Boat captain Tactical Analysis * Come on down, the water's warm: A light anti-air rapid response platform, the Patrol Boat is rather speedy and can easily chase down slower aircraft, though its machine gun struggles to deal with faster or more heavily armoured aircraft. * Waterway denial: With its speed, the Patrol Boat was also considered a suitable platform for the deployment of naval mines. These mines can be laid down to serve as a rather effective deterrent to enemy ships. * Hardly a battleship: The Patrol Boat does have many mortal enemies that it should learn to stay away from. Its machine gun cannot be turned seaward, hence enemy surface ships, especially lighter ones, can chase down the Patrol Boat and send it to Davy Jone's locker. * I am a *cough* civilian: Elite Patrol Boat crews have mastered the art of acting like random civilian fishing boats in the presence of enemies, rendering them essentially invisible to the enemy commander's eyes, until of course, the Patrol Boat chooses to fire. Enemy scouts are not fooled by the act and will detect the telltale smell of gunpowder, however. History During World War II, several Allied Frigates were sunk by Soviet submarine forces during the beginning of the war, bringing the Allies' seaborne anti-air capabilities down and threatening Allied air superiority over the Western Baltic and North Seas. All active shipyards throughout Europe and the Americas worked on replacing the lost ships, but the construction was in many cases hindered by technical malfunctions caused by Soviet infiltrators and, in some cases, bad luck (including an infamous case of a half-eaten apple dropped in the cannon during production, with hilarious consequences upon firing). The Allies ordered the coast guards of several nations, most notably the United States, to send out their Coast Guard patrol boats to help patrol the northern coasts of Northern Europe. While their firepower was limited, the Archerfish-class patrol boats of the US Coast Guard were surprisingly effective at ambushing helicopter flights due to it being unremarkable and easy to hide--and it was cheap to produce to boot. Still, it wasn't very cost effective due to the high casualties and the remaining patrol boats were continuously retired as new Frigates left their docks. After the war, the Coast Guards took the boats back for domestic usage until later designs, such as the Hydrofoil, made them obsolete. Most are stored away as reserves, if they are still even usable. A notable incident in June 1969 was the looting of Coast Guard Storage 21 in Louisiana by alleged Confederate supporters, where several hundreds of Patrol Boats were stolen. Investigators have branded it an inside job, and the Coast Guard has also seen several defections to the rebel navy. Other storages around the Gulf coast have followed, leading to rebel-controlled Patrol Boats being a common sight in the swamps of Florida and Louisiana where they patrol the rivers when not catching food for the day. Their speed and unassuming appearance has also made them the ideal platform to deploy stolen caches of naval mines, much to the annoyance of Allied naval forces. ARVN Patrol Boat "Charlie don't surf!" :- Patrol Boat Captain Tactical Analysis * Fire and water: Unlike regular Patrol Boats, the South Vietnamese version is armed with a heavy flamethrower, effective for killing off trees and Vietcong soldiers alike. * It floats, doesn't it?: ARVN infantry can hop onto the boat, in order to traverse the occasional river. * Technically Less than Lethal: A few Patrol Boats have had their flamethrowers replaced with cryo-sprayers by the Allies. The Rangers have taken the liberty of adding a machine gun to these boats to shatter whatever the sprayers freeze. Background There have been many designs for Patrol Boats. During each of the World Wars, in order to rapidly build up numbers, all sides created auxiliary patrol boats by arming civilian motorboats and sea going fishing trawlers with machine guns and naval weapons. Some modern patrol vessels are still based on fishing and leisure boats. As in Louisiana, there is a large amount of swamp (and shrimp) in Vietnam, so the ARVN has a similar model for its anti-Vietcong manoeuvres. They catch a larger amount of food daily compared to back in Louisiana, though. These boats also provide full mission support for ARVN Jungle Rangers and other Allied forces in the area so they are a common sight throughout the coastal regions and rivers. To clear a shoreline of pesky "vegetation", many Patrol Boats have recently been armed with napalm turrets on the bow. Category:Units